<span>Balloons are blown up, and then rubbed against your shirt many times. The balloon then touches the ceiling. When released, the balloon remains stuck to the ceiling. The balloon is charged by contact. The ceiling has a neutral charge. The charged balloon induces a slight surface charge on the ceiling opposite to the charge on the balloon. Balloon and ceiling electric charges are opposite in sign, so they will attract each other. Since both the balloon and the ceiling are insulators, charge can not flow from one to the other. The charge on the balloon is fixed on the balloon and the charge on the ceiling remains fixed to the ceiling. It just so happens that the<span> electrostatic force the ceiling exerts on the balloon is sufficient to hold the balloon in place (i.e. overcomes gravity, etc.).</span></span>
Bar magnets are permanent magnets. This means that their magnetism is there all the time and cannot be turned on or off as it can with electromagnets .
